STAR WARS: TARNUS III
by DifferenceO'Mighty
Summary: From the forest of Yavin IV to the planet Vrogas Vas, we will fight the Empires battle on land and in space. First to fight for law and order and to keep our loyalty clean, We are proud to claim the title of Imperial Stormtrooper.


STAR WARS

TARNUS 3

Prologue

Several weeks had passed since the meeting among the officers of the Razor. Tarnus, Hynor, Mal, Traw, and Jay-Wa continued their daily drills with the Acklay Legion. In that time, Mal and her company successfully annihilated the Neimoidian rebel cell on Neimodia and were commended by the Imperial governor of the planet. Antawa and her ship were reassigned to Fleet Commander Karbin's fleet. Karbin is a cybernetic Mon Calamari and a potential replacement for Darth Vader should he be killed. Karbin ordered his fleet to Vrogas Vas for two reasons: to rescue Darth Vader and more importantly capture Luke Skywalker who was present on the planet.

Chapter 1

Tarnus and the Acklay Legion were all aboard a fleet of 50 imperial shuttles escorted by hundreds of tie fighters and interceptors. The transports and fighters were headed to the surface of Vrogas Vas. The fighters were to do what they could to either distract or eliminate rebel fighters and artillery while the transports landed and deployed stormtroopers against the rebel garrison. Only one shuttle was destroyed during their descent to Vrogas Vas, the remainder were able to land and troopers engaged the rebels in force.

During the fighting Antawa informed Tarnus that the presence of Han Solo, Chewbacca, Leia Organa, R2-D2, C-3PO, and Luke Skywalker had all been confirmed by multiple troopers and Commander Karbin. Tarnus was to prioritize the rescue of Darth Vader and to capture the rebel generals if possible. Leia Organa and a squad of rebel soldiers were said to be closest to the legions current position. Tarnus ordered Hynor and Bravo Company to go after Leia immediately. Hynor took his group and rushed through the rebel lines heading straight to the Princess. Tarnus then ordered Traw and Mal's companies to hold their position and pin the attacking rebels. Tarnus and Jay-Wa would take their groups and attempt to disable rebel artillery units.

Tarnus and over 300 stormtroopers rushed to the sounds of heavy artillery fire. With each step he took the sound grew louder and resistance grew stronger. After what felt like an hour of rushing, the stormtroopers arrived to the artillery field and encountered assault vehicles firing on them. They were pinned down and forced to take cover behind foliage. Jay-Wa radioed for air support and within seconds imperial shuttles fired on the assault vehicles opening a hole in the rebel defense. Rebel soldiers then flooded the field attempting to defend their artillery, however, there were too many stormtroopers for the rebels to fight against. Tarnus admired the rebels bravery in the face of overwhelming numbers, but that soon ended when he saw several of his troops fall to the ground from laser fire. Angered by the death of his soldiers Tarnus pulled out two blaster pistols and ran towards the rebels guns blazing. Jay-Wa and the rest of the troopers were shaken by Tarnus' actions, awestruck by his courage or insanity to run into blaster fire. Tarnus took several hits half way through the field and collapsed on his knees to the ground. Despite his injuries he got back up and continued to rush. Inspired by his actions Jay-Wa and the two companies rushed the field as well firing on the rebel defenses.

Tarnus finally reached the rebel lines and entered close quarter combat. He grabbed one rebel by her neck, a blue skinned Twi'lek, snapped her neck and threw her to the ground. He then punched another rebel, a man, straight in the face disorienting him and firing his pistols into his chest. One after another Tarnus took down many rebels, by the time Jay-Wa and the rest arrived at least a dozen rebels were at his feet, dead. Soon the artillery field was nothing but a brawl between imperials and rebels. Stormtroopers had their armor and helmets torn off, rebels were receiving cuts and bruises, the dirt on the ground was littered with weapons and blood, it was a terrifying sight.

Chapter 2

Far from the artillery field Mal and Traw were inching closer and closer to the rebel lines. They suffered very few casualties and as they moved forward they saw more and more rebel corpses. Mal was convinced that a final rush could break the rebel lines and force the enemy to retreat, however, Traw was hesitant and suggested that their slow pace was working well enough. Because of their equal ranks as Captains it was difficult for Mal to do as she pleased. She attempted to contact Hynor to request his permission to rush the enemy. There was no response from Hynor. Mal then attempted to contact Tarnus and yet again no response. Mal was growing impatient. She then contacted Antawa which worked. Mal told Antawa of the situation to which Antawa gave Mal a green light to charge the enemy. Slightly annoyed by Mal's persistence, Jay-Wa followed through. Both captains ordered their respective companies to charge the rebels.

Towards the inner circle of the battlefield Hynor and his company caught up to Leia and engaged her squad of Delta Forces who were already engaging Darth Vader. Darth Vader had already done away with most of Delta Squad, Hynor and his company arrived to wipe out the remainder and capture Leia.

Seeing the casualties of her squad Leia ordered them to retreat to which they denied and told the princess to escape while they held off Vader and the stormtroopers. Leia was hesitant but knew the stakes if she was captured by the empire and ran.

Hynor caught a glimpse of Leia and ordered a small squad to pursue her, unfortunately they were gunned down by heavy rebel fire. Hynor refocused his efforts to successfully rescue Vader by eliminating the remaining Delta squad members. He attempted to contact the rest of the legion but was unable to.

Mal, Traw, and the troopers were able to force rebel troops to retreat towards the inner circle of the battlefield. Despite this momentary tactical victory Captain Traw punched Captain Mal in her stomach then punched her once more across her helmet. Several troopers looked at Traw as he stood over Mal. Traw then raised Mal by her armor collar and began scolding her, "Look what you did!" he yelled as he pointed towards the field littered with the bodies of stormtroopers, many dead and few injured. Mal looked to the field and back at Traw stating they had taken the objective and that is all that mattered. Traw released his grip on Mal. Removing his helmet he looked at Mal and told her to take her troops to wherever she wanted to take them, but she was not allowed to order his troops anywhere. Mal retaliated stating they had a mission to complete to which Traw countered, "Our mission was to hold the enemy, not take them!" Traw turned his back to Mal and ordered his troops to recover the injured and begin evac operations. Mal turned to her troops and ordered them continue into the battlefield. Traw gathered as many injured troops as he could and ordered his standing troopers to lay the dead near the established evac site. He radioed for imperial transports to make continuous landings to remove the injured troopers for the remainder of the battle.

Chapter 2.1

Traw is a male human, standing at 5 feet 5 inches, black hair and honey colored eyes. Traw grew up on Nar Shaddaa as a merchant in the cortosis mining trade. He and his father were considered high level merchants as they had business with the Hutt's. They used the cortosis ores to build vibro weapons of high quality and sold it to the Hutt's and other groups in bulk. The vibro weapons were able to deflect blaster fire and cross with lightsabers. Traw's most prized product was the vibro shield, a weapon capable of deflecting a large radius of blaster fire. It could also be sized to fit an individual's need. Other than his trade business Traw was very considerate of others using some of his profits to feed the young and poor on Nar Shaddaa. When he was not working he was either sleeping or feeding the poor.

During one of his monthly shipments, aboard his GR-75 transport, to the Hutt's, a fleet of pirates raided his ship. Traw alerted the Hutt, Yuader, of the raid. Yuader relied heavily on Traw to make weapons for his guards and thus sent immediate aid. While Hutt reinforcements were on their way, Traw and his personal guards fought against the pirates as best as they could but were eventually pushed back to the bridge. Traw and his guards had locked themselves in the bridge and awaited their fate should the pirates break in. Traw was prepared to die fighting but was fortunate enough to have the local imperial garrison intervene. Stormtroopers flooded the corridors wiping out the pirate threat. In minutes the Stormtroopers informed Traw that the threats were gone and that he and his guards were safe. Traw opened the doors and shook hands with the stormtroopers. Shortly after the situation settled, Yuader's forces arrived.

The Empire and Yuader had an arrangement. Yuader was allowed to conduct his cartels operations and in exchange the Empire was allowed to use Hutt hyperspace lanes and receive a portion of the profits from the cartel. Both sides were profitable by the end of it.

Traw was amazed by the stormtroopers heroics and decided after that event to enlist in the stormtrooper corps and thus he began his new career as an imperial soldier.

Chapter 3

Tarnus, Jay-Wa, and their company's finally won the fight at the artillery field. The area was littered with rebel and imperial soldiers. The artillery units were destroyed and Tarnus stood over the corpse of an enemy while covered in blood and blaster marks. Looking to his fallen and injured comrades Tarnus made the decision to hold the artillery field and act as a reserve unit. He signaled his troops to establish a defensive perimeter and a landing site followed by a request to Antawa to evac the injured troops. He was attempting to contact his other officers but was only able to reach Os-Gi, Commander of Foxtrot Company of the 729th Acklay Legion. Os-Gi was aboard the Razor acting as a relief unit should the campaign on Vrogas Vas become a lengthy battle. He gave Os-Gi orders to come down and relieve Alpha Company. Tarnus ended communications and sat atop a stone overlooking his unit.

Hynor and Bravo Company eradicated the rebel Delta squad and successfully rescued Darth Vader, however, Leia was nowhere to be found. Within ten minutes Commander Karbin and his personal guard touched down on Vrogas Vas. Karbin met up with Hynor and Vader. Karbin took advantage of the battled Vader and challenged the dark lord to a duel to determine which of the two would be the better apprentice to Emperor Palpatine. Vader accepted and the two warriors fought. Just before the fight Vader assumed command of Bravo Company and ordered them to locate Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, without hesitation Hynor and his unit spread out.

Resistance from the rebels decreased significantly as the majority of the rebel forces had been wiped out by the Acklay Legion and the remaining rebels were on the run.

After numerous attempts, Tarnus was able to link all his officers on comms. Hynor reported that Vader and Karbin were dueling, Mal was making progress throughout the battlefield, Traw had set up an evac site, and Os-Gi was en route to relieve Alpha and Echo Company. Other than Vader and Karbin dueling and the missing rebel generals the situation seemed positive. With combat dying down, Tarnus let out a sigh of relief and proceeded to tend to his wounds. As he was recuperating he viewed his troopers performing all sorts of tasks; tending to the wounded, rounding up rebel corpses, defending the perimeter, conversing with one another, and so on. It was good to see the troopers busy, it kept them away from the thoughts of war and losing their comrades.

Minutes had passed before Foxtrot Company finally arrived to relieve Alpha and Echo Company. Captain Os-Gi met with Tarnus and was surprised by the commanders battle scarred appearance. Tarnus looked to the Captain and said "Speak freely." Os-Gi asked what had happened in the fight to which Tarnus replied "We took the objective." Transports were landing all around the evac site receiving injured troopers and dropping off troopers of Foxtrot company. The view might as well have correlated with that of an imperial occupation.

Jay-Wa met up with Tarnus and Os-Gi informing them that the relief operations were going well. Tarnus understood and asked the status of the rest of the legion. Mal's company is currently searching for the rebel generals, Traw was conducting evac operations of his own, and Hynor was awaiting orders. Tarnus contacted Hynor and Mal to return to Traw's evac site and begin preparations to return to the Razor. Tarnus then contacted Commander Antawa requesting a situation report. Antawa confirmed that Commander Karbin had been killed by Darth Vader and that Karbin's fleet was now under Vader's command. Additionally, Antawa mentioned that the rebel generals had fled the system and that all operations on Vrogas Vas had ended. Darth Vader made an announcement to all space and ground forces to leave Vrogas Vas and return to their prior duties.

Chapter 4

After two cycles (days) since the Battle of Vrogas Vas, the Acklay Legion was back aboard the Razor. Antawa, Tarnus, and the rest of the officers received after action reports. Of the 1000 troopers that were present on Vrogas Vas, 210 had been killed. It was the least costly battle the legion had been in since their establishment. The psychological toll the battle had on several troopers and officers forced Antawa to place her ship on temporary standby at the Kuat system. Kuat was home to the production of Imperial Star Destroyers and home to one of the largest imperial fleets in the galaxy. It was a perfect place to take an extended leave with a high level of defense and security.

Chapter 5

Tarnus was on an imperial docking station staring out into space through an observation window. As officers and stormtroopers passed by, he simply stared at the emptiness of space wondering about the events of Vrogas Vas. The empire had an opportunity to cripple the Alliances's morale by capturing several of their generals and two droids possessing critical information of the rebellion. This failed attempt would forever stain the name of the Acklay Legion and the crew of the Razor. Aboard the docking station there were whispers among other soldiers and officers, speaking ill of the Acklay and Razor. Tarnus did his best to ignore those whispers.

An officer of the docking station and two lieutenants approached Tarnus. The officer, Sharon, stood at a height of six feet and two inches, taller than most officers in the fleet. She has pale skin and long brunette hair in a bun. She was a recent graduate from the Imperial Academy on Coruscant, however, much of the information on her is unknown. Sharon ordered Tarnus at attention. Tarnus stood straight, fists clenched by his side, and his eyes looking past the officer. Sharon circled Tarnus, hands behind her back. She began to comment on the failures of Tarnus and the Acklay legion on Vrogas Vas. Initially, it sounded as if Sharon was complimenting the strength and abilities of the Acklay legion, but it soon became insults and slander. In Tarnus' mind, all he could think of was knocking her down and yet he took the insults. The two lieutenants accompanying Sharon continued her verbal abuse.

Tarnus not willing to jeopardize the reputation of his legion by punching Sharon, he requested permission to speak freely. Sharon was about to reply until Commander Antawa showed up and demanded that Sharon and the lieutenants stand at attention. Antawa seemed strange, her personality was aggressive and her eyes depicted anger towards anyone she looked at. Sharon and the lieutenants became nervous as Antawa simply stared angrily at them. Tarnus was expecting Antawa to gun them down. Antawa said, "You have the courage to talk down to a veteran of the Clone Wars, the audacity to insult a Commander and his legion, and the nonsense to say all of that without going into any battles since your graduation from the academy." Sharon began to sweat as other officers and soldiers looked towards the group. "Tell me Lieutenant Sharon, do you know what our objective was on Vrogas Vas?" Sharon glanced at one of the lieutenants, "Lieutenant!" Sharon refocused her gaze forward. Suddenly, Sharon placed her hands around her neck, started levitating above the floor, and began gasping for air. Darth Vader approached from down the hallway, his arm stretched out and hand slightly clenched as if he was choking someone. "Their mission was to rescue me and as you can see I am still alive," Vader said. All the officers and soldiers in the hallway stood at attention. "Before you slander the name of a legion understand what it means to lead one." Sharon fell to the ground gasping for air, the lieutenants came to her aid. After that, the atmosphere on the docking station changed for the better for the Acklay legion.

Chapter 6

Several weeks had passed since the Razor departed from the docking station at Kuat. Commander Antawa was given orders to investigate a potential rebel threat in the outer rim territories of the Empire. Other commanders and admirals were given the same order to investigate the outer rims. Supposedly, Imperial intelligence was picking up several communications between rebel leaders attempting to spring up rebel cells throughout the outer rim. With this information, high command deemed it necessary to have an imperial presence in the region to deter any potential uprisings. With Antawa, her crew, and the legion, the Razor was to investigate the Iego system.

Iego is a tropical world with a populace of mainly junkers, traders, travellers, and smugglers. It held no important resources for the Empire and as such was left alone. Iego also possesses a thousand moons and is home to the "angel" species. A humanoid species that glows brightly and possess wings, giving them the image of an angel. It is rare to see these people and is considered good fortune if anyone were to see one.

On this world there is a very aggressive militia group called the Iego Defense Forces (IDF). It was established by the governing Iego council immediately after the Clone Wars. The sole mission of the Iego Defense Force is to prevent any army from occupying Iego. The militia is small compared to the legion and the defense fleet is only composed of four modified venator-class destroyers and they utilize clone war era starfighters such as V-Wings and V-19 Torrent fighters. Despite their small size they have won many battles against mercenaries and pirates who have attempted to cause trouble on the planet. The Empire does not see the militia as a great threat, however, Antawa was told not to underestimate them.

As soon as the Razor entered the Iego system it was hailed by the IDF. A Captain Lockhart demanded to know the identity and intention of the Empire in their system. Antawa did not want to appear hostile as this could lead to an unnecessary battle. Antawa explained the situation that there was a potential rebellion on Iego and that she was ordered to investigate the planet. Lockhart was critical of the Empire and requested to know what type of investigation the Empire wanted to conduct. Antawa replied she would send a small garrison of troops to search several cities on the planet. Lockhart immediately refused to allow such an interference by the Empire. "No army is to occupy Iego!" Lockhart demanded that Antawa remove her presence from the system. At this point Antawa became aggressive. Antawa stated that the Empire would take the Iegoan refusal as a sign of rebellion and that the full force of an entire fleet would come to the system if the IDF continued to deny the Empire its investigation. Before Antawa continued another voice came over the comms "This is Admiral McAlex of the IDF, I am requesting permission to board your ship, unarmed and alone. I will be coming in a V-Wing fighter." Antawa looked to her crew and nodded in agreement. She replied to the admiral stating he has permission to come aboard and that he will be met with an armed guard. The admiral accepted the terms and in time a meeting between the IDF and Razor would happen.

Commander Tarnus and two storm troopers arrived at the hangar where they awaited the arrival of Admiral McAlex. Sure enough a V-Wing entered and landed aboard the Razor. The cockpit opened up and a short, elderly, gray haired man in a black officer uniform dropped down. The man smiled and approached Tarnus. Upon closer look Tarnus noticed a four winged silver pin above the admirals right shirt pocket and centered on the Admiral's cap. The admiral and Tarnus shook hands and the two headed towards the command bridge to meet Antawa.

Commander Antawa, Commander Tarnus, and Admiral McAlex sat at a conference and began discussing the situation that has been presented between the Empire and Iego. McAlex was determined to prevent any army from landing on Iego, however, Antawa needed to conduct her mission by doing so. Tarnus suggested that the Empire and IDF collaborated on the investigation. Have IDF and Imperial forces investigate together, it would ease the tension between the two groups. McAlex admired the idea and requested he communicate the information to the Iego council, Antawa allowed it.

Several minutes after, McAlex received confirmation from the council to allow a small garrison of stormtroopers to land on Iego and begin their investigation alongside IDF forces. Only 100 stormtroopers were allowed to land on world and they would be accompanied by IDF forces as they searched several cities. Tarnus was in charge of the garrison.

Chapter 7

Tarnus met with a lieutenant of the IDF at Cliffhold, a major city on Iego built on the side of a cliff. This is where most of the inhabitants on the planet travel to conduct trade or learn of the galaxy. Tarnus and the lieutenant organized how their units would conduct an Imperial investigation. Of the one hundred storm troopers ten would remain at Cliffhold while the rest would spread out into the surrounding villages while escorted by IDF forces. The small squad at Cliffhold was to set up a communications array to link all units on a single comms channel. Tarnus and his troops were secretly scanning IDF channels as well with the array as a precaution. Tarnus could not afford to have any surprises while he was on the surface without support and surrounded by an aggressive militia.

Tarnus and his squad of ten troopers went door to door while escorted by the IDF. The inhabitants gave suspicious eyes to the imperials with many of them calling for their removal. There were a handful of inhabitants that demanded that the IDF gun down the imperials. Tarnus ignored the scolding and proceeded with his mission.

Over Iego, the Razor conducted radio scans of the planet hoping to pick up any rebel communications. Commander Antawa and Officer Gala were both suspicious of the IDF and alerted both the crew and the legion to be on high alert, especially with four modified Venators near the Razor.

Captain-Commander Hynor had not seen a Venator class destroyer since the Clone Wars and was reminded of his time aboard one of the vessels during his days as a grunt. Many of his current subordinates noticed his calm demeanor while looking out an observation window towards a Venator. It was almost as if Hynor was at peace while everyone else was paranoid. Hynor walked towards the command deck to meet up with Antawa and Gala. As soon as the clone made it to the deck Gala had asked the clone what he thought of the IDF and their ship. Hynor commented on their behavior as suspicious. This was a common thought among officers, however, he continued to mention that this militia was more hostile to any army since the Clone Wars as Iego was once occupied and imprisoned by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Many famed pilots of the planet were killed by a separatist security weapon that prevented any ship from leaving the system. Hynor continued to state that Jedi's Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi were the ones responsible for freeing Iego from the prison. Gala asked if this world was friendly to Jedi to which Hynor responded with a confident "I do not doubt if there are Jedi hiding there now."

Antawa overheard the conversation between Gala and Hynor and asked Hynor what were the odds of Jedi being present on Iego. Hynor restated his comment that there might be Jedi there now. With that said Antawa thought that Iego is a perfect world for any Jedi to hide in.

Chapter 8

It has been a full cycle since Tarnus and his garrison began their operations on Iego. Nothing was discovered and many of the troopers were feeling a sense of monotony. Tarnus ordered a pause on the operation and allowed his troops to receive some rest. A small squad of troopers with some IDF militia men would continue to monitor communication channels occurring on world. Tarnus himself took first watch on the comms.

About four hours into observation, the squad observing comms rotated with the next group. Tarnus took his leave and walked with his group to a temporary barracks the IDF had built for the imperials. The barracks was a makeshift wooden building with several windows and two doors. It was basically a wooden box with a cooling system. Tarnus got into one of the cots that was set up. Tarnus removed his helmet and rested with his armor still on. He shut his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.

With a majority of the imperial garrison resting, shadows began moving throughout Iego. IDF forces entered their wheeled light vehicles, transports, and tanks and moved away from the villages they were guarding. Several stormtroopers viewed their movements in person and on radar. Uncertain of how to react, one stormtrooper contacted Tarnus and requested orders.

Barely two hours of rest and Tarnus was up and ready. As he was caught up with the information given to him, he made contact with IDF Admiral McAlex asking what was going on to which McAlex responded with "It is the business of Iego, not the Empire" and cut communication with Tarnus. Tarnus was suspicious of McAlex and contacted Antawa to request permission to closely observe the IDF. Antawa gave the okay.

Leading a unit of around 20 stormtroopers and a pair of TX-130 Saber Tanks they departed Cliffhold. IDF Commander RougDoll and several light battle tanks encircled the imperial unit, surrounding them with blasters and cannons. Tarnus aimed his blaster and the Saber Tanks entered battle positions. "My name is Captain RougDoll and you are interfering with our operations, stand down and return to your post." Tarnus took several steps forward and stood in the path of the many blasters aimed at his men. Crossing his arms he demanded to know what was going on. RougDoll, just like McAlex, stated it was not the Empires business to know. Tarnus' suspicion grew and he pondered quickly what to do next, his decision was that of an officer of the empire.

Tarnus drew his blaster pistols and aimed directly at RougDoll and then stated "I am tired of the games of the IDF." RougDoll looked to Tarnus intensely with his dark eyes and blaster at the ready. "By the authority of the Galactic Empire I am declaring martial law on Iego. Put your weapons down or this will be an act of Treason against the Empire." RougDoll reached in his side holster and raised a flare gun. "Think about what you are doing," Tarnus said to RougDoll. RougDoll replied "I already did," and shot a flare into the sky. A bright red light could be seen from the villages and the main city. The Battle for Iego had begun.

Stormtroopers and IDF forces fired on one another, the initial fire took the lives of many soldiers. The stormtroopers resting in the barracks and comm stations were ambushed. Caught completely off guard and nearly wiped out, the remaining troopers held their ground and contacted Antawa alerting her of the situation. Antawa ordered the immediate deployment of the Acklay Legion, fighter squadrons, bombers, vehicles and so on.

As ships were swarming Iego the IDF fleet of four modified Venator-Class destroyers approached the Razor firing their turbolasers. Antawa returned fire and ordered several squadrons of fighters to defend against enemy fighters. Noting how small the IDF fleet was, Antawa assumed they could be destroyed easily.

Over an hour had passed since the battle began and already several villages were burned to the ground with soldiers, civilians, vehicles, and starships littering the surrounding battlefield. Commander Tarnus had gone missing and no one was able to communicate with him. Captain-Commander Hynor was charged with leading the surface battle until Tarnus could be found.

The Empire and IDF were fighting for control over the capital city. The Empire's strength in numbers and weaponry forced a majority of the IDF to hide while others continued to fight in their light vehicles. Despite their fragile armaments the tenacity and the will of the Iegoan soldiers was admirable and formidable.

Chapter 9

Commander Antawa battled against the IDF fleet of modified Venator Cruisers, however, the presumption that the enemy fleet could be easily destroyed was an underestimation. The Razor had sustained damage to its primary hangar and portside turbolasers. This damage had prompted Antawa to request reinforcements from a nearby system, unfortunately, Iego is located in the outer rims and not many Imperial garrisons can be contacted so easily due to the distance from the core worlds. Regardless of the obstacle Antawa initiated a distress beacon with the hope Imperial reinforcements would arrive. In the meantime, Antawa continued managing the fight over Iego.

The Battle over Iego appeared one sided as Antawa struggled to manage her ship and deployment of fighters and ground forces. With her portside turbolasers damaged she could not offer the Acklay Legion any orbital bombardments without sacrificing her offensive capabilities. Antawa made a difficult decision in order to save the Razor and its crew, all ground support operations were terminated. She relayed a message to Hynor alerting him of the situation. Hynor responded with discontent stating "You cannot abandon us here!" Antawa terminated the signal and proceeded. "Ma'am we have dropships in our forward hangars!" a lieutenant announced. Several old republic LAAT transports had successfully penetrated the hangar shields and landed inside the Razor deploying over sixty IDF assault troopers. These troopers wore, modified, old republic clone trooper uniforms. Primarily black in color with white trimming near the joints of the armor. Troopers of the Acklay legion engaged the hostiles in the hangars preventing the infiltrators from running amok within the Destroyer.

"Ma'am! Several hostiles passed through and are headed towards the bridge," one trooper announced. Antawa ordered the bridge sealed shut and a squad of stormtroopers to come and defend it from the infiltrators. The situation was heating up and many of the crew were distraught. Antawa continued to signal for imperial reinforcements, but to no avail. She ordered the bridge to prepare for a fight should the enemy break through the blast doors of the bridge. "Antawa! Infiltrators are headed to our life support," another trooper announced over comms. Antawa grew aggressive demanding how hostiles were getting passed the defensive lines of the legion. No response. The situation became dire and Antawa was running out of options.

Officer Gala informed Antawa that life support was sealed off and a squad of stormtroopers were already there to defend it. Antawa nodded to Gala and a small sense of ease came along with it.

Chapter 10

Back on Iego at Cliffhold, Hynor was unable to communicate with Tarnus. Unwilling to believe the worst had happened, Hynor ordered the remains of the company on Iego to fall back to Cliffhold and set a perimeter at the council building. Just as Hynor gave the order he was shot in his right shoulder and knocked to the ground. Stormtroopers shot in the direction of the blaster fire as others dragged Hynor out of harm's way.

Hynor and his squad made it into a concrete home, only blocks away from the council building. Unfortunately, there were still small skirmishes around the area. To have the entire company fall back to the city center was an error on Hynor's part and the sheer fact less than a hundred stormtroopers are fighting an entire army made the retreat unrealistic. To make matters worse a communications sergeant had informed Hynor that the Razor had been boarded several minutes prior and that communications was being jammed. Hynor now under the impression that reinforcements would not arrive had become overwhelmed by the spree of unfortunate events. Despite the odds of victory, Hynor remembered his training as a clone trooper of the republic and ordered once again his entire company fall back to the city center at any cost.

Hynor looked out the entrance of the concrete home and held a blaster rifle at the ready. He then ordered two of his troopers to run across a small street to another home and watch the streets for hostiles. He then ordered the rest of his squad to run towards the council building while he and the other two troopers provided cover fire. Luckily, the entire squad was able to make it to the building without a skirmish in their path.

Upon arrival, Hynor took note of other squads already present in the building, about 50 troopers in total had made it back. It was good to see the troopers, but at only half strength, the odds of failure grew higher. Hynor had asked if anyone was able to get in contact with Tarnus. No one could confirm his whereabouts or if he was even alive. A trooper gave Hynor a status report and confirmed that over 20 troopers of the company had been killed and another 20 have unknown statuses.

Caught up to speed, Hynor set up a defensive perimeter and ordered a squad to look for the communications and supply rooms to keep a steady flow of information and relief present for the company. The perimeter would have three lines; the first line would be located outside the building, utilizing barriers and debris for cover against enemy fire and advances, the second line would be the lobby room directly outside the council chamber, and the last line would be the council chamber itself. Hynor told his troopers that this would be their final test of loyalty and commitment to the empire, to hold their position in front of immeasurable odds knowing that death was almost certain. He even told them that he had been in worse situations during the Clone Wars where a company of clones was surrounded by thousands of battle droids, but he and his brothers were able to come out of it alive. Inspired by his past experiences, the company was reinvigorated and ready to fight beside Hynor to the end.

"Captain Hynor, our observers are picking up countless squads of IDF headed our way, they're accompanied by several light vehicles." Hynor pulled out his pistols and proceeded to the first line of defense. Standing beside his subordinates, he prepared to take as many enemies as possible. "Get ready boys and girls, today is a good day to be a stormtrooper."

Epilogue

"Captain Sloane we're receiving a distress signal from the outer rim," a communications officer aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer, Ultimatum, stated. "Is it civilian?" Sloane asked. The officer responded that it is an imperial signal from the Razor. Sloane then asked if the signal carried a message with it to which the officer replied it did not. Slaone contacted Imperial HQ and informed them that a destroyer was in distress and that she would take charge of addressing it. HQ recommended to her that she await for another destroyer to join her to which she replied "The Empire can't wait to maintain order." HQ granted her the green light to assist the Razor.


End file.
